Led by their talismanic manager Unai Emery, Aston Villa look set to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the second time in three years.
After a slow start to the campaign, which saw Aston Villa fail to score any goals in their opening five league matches, Emery has got his players firing again, with UEFA Champions League qualification looking more and more like a when rather than an if.
Before the start of the 2025/26 Premier League season, few pundits, podcasters or fans predicted Villa to qualify for any form of Europe this season, let alone the premier competition, highlighting the gravity of the achievements this campaign.
A poor summer window of signings, coupled with the uncertainty surrounding a number of key players, led to an environment around the club that threatened to turn toxic.
However, a stellar run of 18 wins in 19 matches in all competitions saw the Villans shoot from surprise relegation contenders to title outsiders, though both sides of the spectrum were wide of the mark.
Instead, Emery's side are still nestled within the top five, which due to England's coefficient will lead to UEFA Champions League qualification, four points clear of sixth place Bournemouth.
With just two games to go, Aston Villa will need to beat either Liverpool at Villa Park or Manchester City away - both matches which anchor their Europa League final against Freiburg - to keep matters in their own hands.
Should the Villans fail to secure three points in either of those fixtures, they will be relying on Bournemouth to lose either of their final two matches, which include Manchester City at home and Nottingham Forest away.
Aston Villa will play Liverpool (h) and Manchester City (a) in their final two fixtures of the season.
Should the unthinkable happen and Aston Villa get caught in their domestic league, Emery's side can also qualify for the UEFA Champions League through winning the Europa League, with the Villans reaching the final thanks to a 4-1 aggregate demolition of Nottingham Forest.
Aston Villa will play in the competition's showpiece in Istanbul against Freiburg on Wednesday 20th May.
